Candy-cutting machine



June 5, 1928.

A. R. THURSTON CANDY CUTTING MACHINE Filed June 23, 1921 NW C Nl @NC Nh, NS

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June 5, 1928. 1,672,741

, A. R. THURSTON CANDY CUTTING MACHINE Filed June 25, 192i y 2 sneet-sheet 2 lm/manic@ wif/t ed@ `Patented June 5, 17928.

nnen-Un n; minerais; or s1.1.rosnrn; Mesem CANDY-enorme uncnnm .ippiieatmi ma June 23, 192i. seem n. 479,320.

This invention relatesl to candy cutting maChmeehavingfor its primary object to provide amechanism of simplified and im` proved construction .for operating upon sheetcandy togcutwthe sheet into strips of.

Y the desiredlength and breadth. o

A. furthenobject of the invention is to providea machine of the character stated which' employs improved means for moving the :candy supporting bed-and for maintaining the bed stationary and against movement during the cutting operation,` and which utilizes. improved mechanism `whereby the degree of travel of the bed `may, be l5 varied as desired. A further object `of the4 invention is to provide improved cutti mechanism for operation upon the vcan y sheet, `and, by

means. of` which` the. sheet` is quickly` out.

m throughout itswidtlr` at the desired moment andwhich is equip ed with means for preventing `the. knife the stick'ycandy mass. i,

A still' further object is to provide means of pa. novel nature for` serving the candy strip lengthwise, and the use of which the strips into which the.' sheet'` is Vcut length o wise may readil, be, made `narrower or broader aszdesire t v Withthese objects in view, together with others which will appear as the description proceeds, theinvention residesin the novel cgxistrimtion, combination and arrangement 3 t particularly pointed out-in the claims. In the.` drawings 1 I F'gre, l is. aside elevation of a candy cuttin `machine constructed ink accordance witht e'. invention; r v i 2 isy a longitudinal sectioml view taken through the candy cuttingmachirne; t 3 is a top `plan v.viefzvv of the candy cutting machine; p y f 4. is a transverse sectional vie-w i taken substantially upon line Lli-4l of Fig. 1; p

` 5 is a, detail view of the mechanism by which the candy carrying table or bedis causedto travel intermittently; and

Fig. 6. is. .a detailview of the means operating the bed actuating mechanism. Referring now more particularly yto, lthe drawings, 10A indicates a supporting frame for the. movable candy carrying bed or table and the mechanism associated therewith; the said `:trame being oifrectengular shape as for ecoming gummedu with,

p parts, `all as will be.. described more fully hereinafter illustrated in the drawings, and

shown, `of an preferred length "or breadth, and preferab y being constructed of angle iron. This frame` is. maintained suitabl?! spaced from the Hoor by legs or standar s 11,. as shown.` To insure strength and rigiditv of. the frame, the longitudinal side rails t ereof maybe connected by suitable cross members orstruts at various points throughout the length of the frame.

The bed or plate upon which the sheet candy isplaced to jbefoperated-upon by the` mechanism hereafter 4fzleserihed is indicated at 12.` o This bed may be formed of any desired material, being ofsuitablelength `and of` such Width asfto rest. atxits `longltudinal.

edges in the angle bars constituting the longitudinal edges of the frame 10. The longitudinal angle bars of` the.. said frame thus constitute guides.` ortracks for the support of they traveling bed, It vvillbe under.-

stoodfthat the lbed willbeconstructed of,

vsuch materials and insueh manner as to prevent breakage por. warping thereof 1n use;

and may be equipped on its upper surface with `a thin sheet of steel to insure evermess of surface`to facilitate the cutting operation to be hereafter described, and to enable the candy stripsor bars to be readily `remomed therefrom after the cutting operation.

l `The longitudinal bars of the frame 10 are provided invvardlyyfrom `the ends thereof with bearings `13 depending from their under surfaces and `alined` with each other laterally' of` the frame, the said. bearings' supporting the tahle or bed operating shaft 14.. This shaft has affixed thereto agear 15 engaged with yteeth of a rack bar 16 carried by the under surfaceof the bed 12 and extending longitudinally thereof. It is obvious, therefore, that as shaft 14 rotates the bed 12 will be caused to slide longitudinally Within the frame;

Itis desiredthat this table be given an intermittentor step by step movement, the

table being at rest` during operation oaf the transverse cutting means to be hereafter detailed. To accomplish this step by step or intermittent traavelot the table, a 4ratchet wheel 17 is aixed to shaft 14 and has its teethengagedby lapawl 18 carried by a rock lever `19 pivoted ooncentrically 'with shaft 1st.` The lowerfend .oi rock lever` 19 has secured thereto one end of an operating rod V20, the.` other end of which isoperatively connected with a` rock shaft 21` disposed transversely beneath frame 10. The rock shaft is equipped with a disk 22 havingV ex tending diametrically across one face thereof a dove-tail recess 23 tovreceive a head 24. The head 24 corresponds to the size and shape of recess 23 so as to be capable of sliding diametrically across the disk 22, and a set screw 25 passing through thev head 24 enables the latter to be securely locked in its various positions of adjustment. The rod is connected to head 24, and it is apparent that by adjusting the said head toward or away from the center of disk 22, the throw of the rock lever 19 may be controlled. By thus adjusting the throw ofthe said lever, it is apparent that the degree of movement of the table or bed 12 may be accurately governed, and the intervals in which the t-able will be moving or at restpmay also Vbe controlled.

The rock shaft 21 derives itsmovement from a jack shaft 26, the latter being mount-ed in any suitable manner beneath the frame 10, and this jack shaft carries a wheel or disk 27 to which is eccentrically connected one end of link 28. The opposite end of this link is connected to the outer end of an arm 29 aiiixed to shaft 21. The jack shaft 26 carries a belt or sprocket wheel 30, over which passes the belt or sprocket chain 31; the latter also passing over a belt or sprocket wheel 32 carried by the main power shaft 33 near one end of the frame 10. Shaft 33 may be energized in any desired manner. a belt wheel 34 being secured thereto in this instance to receive-a belt or any other suitable power transmitting device connected with aline shaft (not shown).

The mechanism employed for transversely cutting the candy carried by the bed 12 includes a. knife blade 36 of a length substantially equal to the breadth of thetable; the said bladebeing secured to a head or bar 37 disposed transversely above the table. The head 37 has depending from the ends thereof the operating bars 38, these bars straddling the table and frame and being mounted for vertical reciprocation in bearings 39 affixed to the sides of the table. The knife is normally maintained in raised or inoperative position, springs being litilizecl for this purpose. These springs `en- K circle the bars or rods 38 and bear at their upper ends` against head 37, resting at their lower ends either upon bearings 39 or against some other fixed part of the frame 10. It is obvious, therefore, that when the knife is moved downwardly into cutting position the springs 40 will be compressed, and when the lknife is released these springs willcausc the. same to at once move upwardly to inoperative or non-cutting position.

Thev means employed for moving the knife downwardly includes a tooth wheel indicated at 41, the latter being provided with projections or teeth 42 at' certain intervals in its circumference to move one at a time into contact with a pin 43earried by bar 38. If desired, each of the bars 38 may be provided with an outwardly extending pin 43 to be engaged by the teeth 42 of wheels 41 disposed upon each side of the frame. By providing a pair of such wheels, 1t is apparent that evenness of movement of knife 36 is sure and the possibility vof the same binding during operation is'obviated. A ny desired means may be em loyed'for rotating the tooth wheel 41; the' said'wheels being aixed to a shaft 44 suit-ably mounted in bearings beneath the frame and driven from jack shaft 26 by means of a belt 45, as shown.

It will be understood, of course, that the tooth wheels 41 will operate upon the knife bars 38 so as to move the latter downwardly only when the table 12 carrying the candy sheet is at rest, and the knife operating mechanism and the bed controlling apparatus will be timed accordingly.

The knife v36 travels between a pair of guards 46 disposed transversely across and above thc upper surface of table 12, the said guards having outwardly directed feet 47 lying close to the upper surface of the candy sheet carried by the table. The guards 46 depend from a plate 48 dis osed a substantial distance above tbe tab e, and which is provided with a central slot 49 to receive knife blade 36. The plate 48 is supported at its ends upon standards pr uprights 49 carried by the longitudinal bars of the frame 10, and set screws50 connecting the plate ends with the said uprights enable the said plat-e to be adjusted vertically. This adjust- Vment is provided tocompensate'for oand sheets of varying thicknesses. l By provi ing guards 46 and feet 47, it is apparent that the candy will beprevented adhering to the knife after the cutting operationv and when the knife is moving upwardly, asthe candy sheet will be engaged the said feet to obviate any lifting movement thereof.

The candy sheetis cut into longitudinal strips by means of roller knives carried by a shaft table 12.v This shaft ist rotatably mounted at its ends in brackets 52 secured to the longitudinal side members of frame 10, and the said shaft is provided with rows of radiating arms 53 carrying roller cutters 54 at their outer ends. The length of the arms 53 is such that the roller knives 54 will cause incisions to be made in the cand sheet as the. bed 12 moves longitudinally 1n its porting frame. The arms of the several series carried by bar 51 ymay be spaced'apart varying distances, in order that the knives of each series may be brought selectively into operative position to eut strips of varying widths. The end' arm of each series of knives is provided with a stud or stem 55 51 disposed transversely above the supto be engaged by a latch 56 carried by one `of the brackets 52, the said latch maintaining the knives in proper cutting'position.

In operation, the traveling table 12 is moved out toward the feed end of the frame and the candy sheet of the desired thickness is laid thereon. The machinery beneath the frame is energized, after the desired adjustments ofknives and intermittent feed mechanism have been made. The table moves intermittently longitudinally of the frame, `in the manner above described and through the `instrumentality of the mechanism detailed, and the longitudinal and lateral cutting means operate upon the candy sheet in the manner specified. The table will remain stationary during the cutting operation of the laterally disposed knife 36, and as soon as this knife has been released, by passing of teeth 42 beyond and out of `en j gagement with pins 43, the springs 4() will raise the knife to inoperative position, while at the same time the drive mechanism for the table comes into operation and moves the table a predetermined distance. This distance may be determined by adjusting the head Q4 in the recess 23 disposed diametrically in disk 22, as has been before de'- scribed.` The knives 54 may be positioned upon the frame so as to cut thelongitudinal incisions prior to the transverse cutting operation, or they may be positioned upon the i frame so as to operate after the transverse cutting operation.

The foregoing is a description of the inparallel guide plates each provided with an` outwardly directed horizontal flange on its lower edge, a knife blade disposedfor ver` tical slidable movement between the guide plates and projecting above said plates, a

4transverse head onthe` upper end of the blade, posts secured to and depending from opposite ends of lthe head, coil springs encircling the posts and bearing against the head and the support, the lower end of each post having a projecting lug, a transverse shaft beneath the support, and a rotatable disk on each end of the shaft having regularly spaced lugs for successive engagement withthe lugs of the posts for depresslng the latter to bring the blade into cutting relation with the candy against the upward action of the coil springs.

In testimony whereof, I aix my signature. i

` ARTHUR R. THURSTON. 

